Furnace or other door



(No Model.) l 4 G. E. WILBUR, PURNAGE 0R -D'IHEB. DOOR.

No. 10V-,980.A Patented July so. 1889.

NA PETERS. Phololilbngnpwrl Washington IIC.

UNITED STATES PATENT Prien.

GEORGE E. VILBUR, OF TAUNTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

FURNACE OR OTHERV DOOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 407,980, dated July 30, 1889.

Application lled January 28, 1889. Serial No. 297,764. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. VILBUR, of Taunton, in the county of Bristol and State of Massachusetts, a citizen of the .United States, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Furnace and other Doors, of which the following` is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyin g drawings, forming a part of this speciiication, in explaining its nature.

Furnace and other large doors of metal are usually made with a latch, which projects from the side of the door, is generally cast integral with Vthe door, and which engages a catch upon the framework or casing of the door, the catch being rigid or stationary, and the door being loosely secured by pivots to the door-frame in a manner to permit the lifting of its free or swinging end as the latch rides over the catch and into its notch. A

' door having this form of latch is quite easily latched or locked; but it is not easily unlatched, especially if the notch of the catch be deep or the door heavy, as it then becomes necessary to lift or draw the door upward as well as outward in the effort to open it or to remove the latch from the notch of the catch. To overcome this objection I have employed, in connection with a door having the usual integral latch and the usual stationary catch, a handle, which, instead of being attached to the door to be employed in pulling or pushing the door in opening or closing the same, is constructed to lift the latch from engage ment with the catch preparatory to the opening of the door. This result is obtained by providing the handle with an arm or extension, pivoting the arm or extension to the door, and locating the inner end of the arm or extension over a lug, which acts as a fulcrum for the arm or extension of the handle, so

that upon the upward movement of the handle the inner end of the arm or lever is brought into contact with the lug and the free end of the door caused to be lifted vertically sufficiently to disengage the latch from the catch before it is moved in a horizontal direction t0 open it.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a view in elevation of a portion of a front of a furnace, representing the combustion-chamber door and the casing about it. Fig. 2 is a detail view illustrating a portion of the doorcasing and representing the relation which the fulcrum-lug bears to the catch. Fig. 3 is a view in vertical section upon the line a: of Fig. l. Fig. 4E is a view in side elevation looking toward the catch and door-latch. Fig. 5 is a view in horizontal section upon theline z e and in plan of parts below said line.

In the drawings I have represented my improvement as applied to the door of a combustion-chamber of a heating-furnacc- A represents the frame or casing of the door. c is the door. a are the hinges or pivots by which the door is attached to the frame A, and upon which it swings or opens horizontally.

B is the latch. It projects horizontally from the free or swinging side a2 of the door, and preferably is cast integral with the door. It is of the usual form.

G is the catch. It is attached to or integral with the frame A of the door. It has the upper inclined surface c and the notch c', and is of the ordinary form.

D is the handle of the door. It is formed upon the end of a bar or lever (l, which is represented in the drawings as extending through an aperture or hole d in the free side of the furnace-door near the latch. This bar or lever is pivoted at d2 to' the door, and its end d3 extends sufciently to project over a lug d", which is attached to or cast with the frame A. (See Figs. 2, 3, and 5.) The lug preferably has a projection d5 extending outward, having its upper surface d slightly inclined downward and having its front rounded. This projection extends sufiiciently to furnish a support for the inner end of thelever while the door is being moved horizontally in unlatching until the latch has cleared or passed the notch. It will thus be seen that the lug serves two purposes-first, as a fulcrum for the end of the door-lifting lever, and, second, as a support upon which the end of the lever may be drawn after the latch has been disengaged from the catch by an upward movement and while it is being drawn horizontally at the beginning of the opening movement.

I would say that I do not coniine myself to the specific construction of lifting-lever and handle herein described, nor to the location of the device herein indicated, as I consider any IOO lever or appliance attached to a door and adapted to be operated to lift the door Vby a direct upward draft upon the same produced by leverage is the equivalent of the device herein specified.

I would further say that the invention may -be employed upon doors of any character and for any use.

lt will be seen that the weight of the handle is such that when not in'use the inner end of the bar or lever is held in its highest or most elevated position, whereby upon the closing of the door it is not brought into contact with the surface of the fulcrum-lug unless the handle is lifted, and that this permits the latching of the door in the usual way, although, if desired, the lifting bar or lever can be employed in latching the door as well as unlatching by lifting the handle to its highest position and holding it lifted as the door is closed, and then permitting the door to drop sn fliciently to allow the latch to enter the notch of the catch.

It will be seen that the upper surface d7 of the lever or lifting-bar comes in contact with the edge da of. the boxing of the door about the hole or aperture in which the door or lever is, and serves as a stop in holding the inner end of the bar or lever in its elevated position and the outer end or handle from dropping below a given point.

In operation the handle is lirst lifted, causing the inner end of the lever or bar to come into contact with the upper surface of the fulcrum-lug, and this enables the latch side of the door to be lifted suiciently to free the latch from engagement with the catch, and

-the door is then moved horizontally outward to open it by simply drawing upon the handle.

Having thus kfully described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesl. In combination with a door having a latch adapted to be disengaged from a catch by the vertical movement of the door, the catch and a door disengagingv or unlatching device coinprising a bar or lever pivoted to the door, one end of which extends to engage a lug andthe other end ot' which to a position outside the door and said fulcrum-lug, substantially as described.

2. The combination, ina door adapted to be moved vertically to disengage its latchfrom its holding-catch,of said latch, the catch,"and a handle attached to or connected with the door-lifting lever, said door-lifting lever, and` a fulcrum or surface upon which said lever is caused to be brought into contact by the movement of the handle, substantially as described.

3. The combination, in a door adapted to be moved vertically to disengage its latch from its holding-catch, of said latch, said catch, a disengaging lever o r bar, and a fulcrum-lug upon the frame of the door, as and for the purposes described.

4. The combination, in a door adapted to be moved vertically to disengage its latch from its holding-catch, of said latch, said catch, a disengaging lever or bar, and a fulcrum-lng upon the frame of the door having a surface slightly inclined and rounded at its front edge, the said surface being of sufficient extent to act as a bearing for the end of the said lifting lever or bar while the latch is being moved horizontally out of line with the catch, substantially as described.

5. The combination, in a door adapted to be moved vertically to disengage its latch from the holding-catch, of said latch, the holdingcatch, a fulcrum-lug, and a handle having an arm or bar pivoted to the door, the outer end 0f said arm or bar being heavier than theinner end, and the end of said bar extending into operative position with said fulcrum-lug when the door is closed, substantially as described.

6. The combination of the door having the hole or aperture d therein, the fulcrum-lng d4, and the bar or lever d, pivoted in said hole or aperture, having the handle D, substantially as described.

7. The combination of the door a, the pivoted lever or bar d, having the handle D, the fulcrum-lug d4, and the stop d8, substantially l as described.

8. The combination of the door havingrthe latch B, catch C, the fulcrum-lug d4, and the lifting bar or leverd, pivoted to the door, having the handle D and the stop d8, substantially as described.

' GEO. E. WILBUR. Vitnesses:

GEO. W. BARRoWs, W. E. WALKER, JOHN WELCH.

IOO 

